Red and Rover by Brian Basset for October 24, 2013

Red, if you need fiber, there’s always the Corny Flakes box!

I’ve never had candy corn. Just lucky, I guess. I don’t recall ever seeing it while living in Canada either.

You could make your own…

Alton Brown Candy CornIngredients4 1/2 ounces confectioners’ sugar (about 1 1/4 cups)1/2 ounce nonfat dry milk (about 6 1/2 teaspoons)1/4 teaspoon kosher salt3 1/2 ounces granulated sugar (about 1/2 cup)3 3/4 ounces light corn syrup (about 1/3 cup)2 1/2 tablespoons H202 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract2 or 3 drops each yellow and orange gel paste food coloringDirectionsCombine the confectioners’ sugar, dry milk and salt in a food processor. Pulse 4 or 5 times, until the mixture is smooth and well combined. Set aside.

Combine the granulated sugar, corn syrup and water in a 2-quart pot. Place over medium heat, cover and cook for 4 minutes. Add the butter, clip on a candy thermometer and bring the sugar syrup to 230 degrees F, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and remove the thermometer.

Add the vanilla and the dry mixture and stir continuously with a silicone spatula until well combined. Pour onto a half sheet pan lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes, until the mixture is cool enough to handle.

Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Add 2 or 3 drops of yellow food coloring to one piece and knead until the color is consistent throughout. Add 2 or 3 drops of orange to the second piece and knead until the color is consistent throughout. Leave the third piece white.

Roll each piece of dough into a strand about 18 inches long. Cut each strand in half and roll each piece into a strand that is about 1/2 inch thick and 22 inches long.

Lay the strands side by side (orange, yellow, then white) and press them together using your fingers. Cut into 4-inch pieces. Then, using a ruler or bench scraper, press each piece into a wedge, keeping the orange section wide and making the white part come to a tip.

Use a wire butter slicer, knife, bench scraper or pizza cutter to cut each wedge into individual candies. Lay the candies on a piece of parchment until dry, at least 1 hour. Store in an airtight container with parchment between each layer.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/candy-corn-recipe2/index.html?oc=linkback

it is rather interesting that somewhere along the line it became ok for breakfast to be loaded with gobs and gobs and gobs of sugar……sugary cereal, pancakes and waffles with gobs of sugary maple syrup, sweet rolls and doughnuts with unbelievable amounts of sugar sugar sugar….“eat your breakfast (disguised as sugar) – it’s the most important meal of the day!” is the popular phrase….I won’t even get into how harmful long term consumption of sugar is; it’s well documented

I just puked.

During the depression we got calories any way we could, and sugar was relatively cheap.

Our mom wouldn’t buy pre-sweetened cereals. Instead, we got GrapeNuts, Wheaties, Cheerios and those things that looked like mini hay bales. But, there was always a full sugar bowl on the table and we had free access to it.

We did have a running argument about the difference between oatmeal with sugar on it and oatmeal cookies.Not much difference except the oatmeal cookies were colder, drier and portable.

We don’t eat cereal anymore, mostly because of the sugar (there is high fructose corn syrup in everything). I eat oatmeal because I can control how much brown sugar I put on it. Oatmeal cookies are the same, if you make them rather than buy them, you control how much sugar you put in it. I usually only put half what a recipe calls for and they taste fine. Also oatmeal cookies are very filling so you only need a couple.

Yep she knows!

It’s funny how our parents bought that crap for us for breakfast as though it was good for you. I always started my day with Fruit Loops or Trix or Fruity Pebbles or Frankenberry. AND…I can remember my mom showing me how to sprinkle not one but two full spoons of sugar on top of it. That’s just what you did.

I’m pretty sure store-bought candy corn is mostly wax, but it probably has less sugar per ounce than a lot of “cereals”.

Red, at least the Corny Flakes have something good in them…real corn…(well, uh, maybe), and candy corn is all sugar, all the time… ;)